A jury has convicted a Honolulu man of trafficking methamphetamine.

Federal prosecutors announced Monday that the jury found Gilbert Lee Medina guilty of the meth trafficking charge and unlawfully possessing a firearm.

Prosecutors say Medina was at the center of a large-scale meth trafficking conspiracy and was responsible for more than 20 pounds of the drug being brought to Hawaii from California. He has previous felony convictions and was prohibited from possessing a firearm. Prosecutors say Medina kept a firearm on his boat docked at Ala Wai harbor.

Jurors also found him guilty of attempting to enter a secure area of Honolulu Airport. Prosecutors say he tried to use false identification in an effort to flee Hawaii.

The 52-year-old faces up to life in prison when he’s sentenced in March.

County prepares report for a new landfill on Kauai

LIHUE >> Kauai County officials are drafting an environmental impact statement for a new landfill to replace the one in Kehaka, which is expected to reach capacity in about 10 years.

Deputy Director of Public Works Lyle Tabata said the county is considering an undeveloped plot in Maalo, which sits between Lihue and Hanamaulu, for the new landfill.

The 270-acre site would be built in stages, with the first 70 acres expected to handle the island’s waste for more than a century. Tabata said the full site would reach capacity after about 300 years, the Garden Island newspaper reported.

The county is looking into a range of funding options for the project, including grants, low-interest loans and bonds.

The existing landfill that holds the island’s 81,000 tons of annual waste is expected to cost about $15 million to shutter, plus additional expenses for post-closure monitoring and maintenance.

The landfill’s expected closure in 10 years depends on the island successfully implementing recycling programs aimed at achieving a 70 percent waste diversion rate by 2020. Kauai’s current diversion rate is about 45 percent, up from 22 percent in 2002.

Tabata said the county will also face challenges in finding a landowner willing to host the proposed site and getting support from residents in nearby communities.

Part of the traffic study included in the environmental impact statement focuses on the possibility of constructing a new road for trucks to travel on for access to the landfill so that residents will not be burdened by the additional traffic.